The biggest no-brainer of all: CHANGE YOUR LIGHTBULBS! It’s easy, you’ll save money, time, and perhaps even the planet.

Of course, you’ll have to throw a bit more up front, because each compact fluorescent (CFL) bulb costs between $3 - $7 more than a regular incandescent bulb), but think of it as an investment. A compact fluorescent bulb will pay for itself in just a few months because CFLS consume up to 75% less energy than incandescent bulbs. They also last more than 10 times longer. That means less money on your energy bill, less money spent on bulbs, and less time consuming trips to the hardware store . . . we’re just too busy.

“But what about the quality of light,” annoying contrarians tend to ask. Fear not, because CFL quality has actually been rated higher than incandescent quality. According to a recent study by Popular Mechanics Magazine, subjects preferred CFL light quality to that of the incandescent bulb.

According to the National Resource Defense Council, if every U.S. household replaced just one incandescent bulb with a compact fluorescent light bulb, preventing 450 pounds of power-plant emissions over the bulb’s lifetime, the amount of energy saved could light 2.5 million homes for a year. Think about how much money that would save too! Hmm, perhaps, we could eliminate the national debt . . .

So what are you waiting for? Change your lightbulbs . . . it’s a no brainer.